Full Time option suitable for:

Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes
International (Non EEA) applicants currently residing outside of the EEA Region. Yes

Part Time option suitable for:

Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes
International (Non EEA) applicants currently residing outside of the EEA Region. No

• develop oral presentation skills
• develop student's research and professional development skills
• develop students communication skills
• enhance group work skills
• enhance students' learning skills in a continuous and automous manner
• equip students with the skills necessary to understand and critically assess issues in Middle East politics

View All Modules Here

The MA Middle East Politics is a 90-credit programme. Full time students must take three 10-credit modules in the autumn trimester, and three 10-credit modules in the spring trimester. Students must also submit a thesis worth 30-credits or pursue an Internship instead.

Core and Option Modules for MA Middle East Politics 

These are the current modules for 2023/24 but are subject to change. Each of the following modules carries 10 credits unless otherwise specified. 

Core Modules

• POL41510 Politics and Change in the Middle East and North Africa (Autumn)
• POL42330 Research Design (Autumn)

Option Modules

Autumn

• LANG10080 Arabic General Purposes 1 (5 Credits)
• POL40050 Theories of International Relations
• POL40140 Theories of Global Justice
• POL40160 Comparative Public Policy
• POL40540 Comparative European Politics
• POL40950 Introduction to Statistics
• POL41020 Politics of Human Rights
• POL41650 The Global Political Economy of Europe
• POL41870 Political Economy of Institutions and Comparative Development
• POL41980 Peace & Conflict Studies
• POL42040 Gender & the Political System

Spring

• LANG10710 Arabic General Purposes 2 (5 Credits)
• POL40100 Politics of Development
• POL40370 International Political Economy
• POL40610 EU Foreign, Security, and Defence Policy
• POL40970 Politics European Governance
• POL41030 Theory of Human Rights
• POL41640 Qualitative Research Methods for Political Science
• POL41720 Gender Peace and Security
• POL41780 The Politics of Inequality
• POL41860 Governance, Politics and Development
• POL42050 Quantitative Text Analysis
• POL42060 International Security
• POL42340 Programming for Social Scientists
• POL42440 Political Economy of Security
• POL42500 Politics of Authoritarianism
• POL42510 Party Organisation in the 21st Century

Please note: if you intend to do LANG10080 you MUST also register for LANG10710 and vis versa

Summer Trimester Core Module

• POL42300 SPIRe Internship (30 credits) or
• POL42310 Thesis (30 credits)

MA Middle East Politics (W393) Full Time
EU          fee per year - € 10100
nonEU    fee per year - € 22600

MA Middle East Politics (W394) Part Time
EU          fee per year - € 6420
nonEU    fee per year - € 11300

***Fees are subject to change

Tuition fee information is available on the UCD Fees website. Please note that UCD offers a number of graduate scholarships for full-time, self-funding international students, holding an offer of a place on a UCD graduate degree programme. For further information please see International Scholarships.

SPIRe operates a Graduate Scholarship programme, which opens on May 1st. To access details, see SPIRe Graduate Scholarship Scheme. Please note that not all programmes are eligible for this Scholarship, please check the T&C's carefully when they become available.

A primary degree with at least Second Class Honours Grade 1 (2H1) in a relevant subject such as political science, international relations, social science, sociology, history, geography, economics, global studies, public policy, development studies, EU studies, law. 2H1 is equivalent to 60 percent, B minus or 3.08 GPA - in American system: B or 3.00 GPA.

Your application will be considered on its individual merits and relevant professional experience will also be taken into account.

English language requirements: applicants whose first language is not English should have met TOEFL, IELTs, or computer-based TOEFL requirements (600, 6.5, or 90 respectively), or the Cambridge English Test (Certificate in Advanced English at a minimum of Grade B, or Certificate of Proficiency in English at Grade C). Applicants who obtained a previous degree from an English-speaking university may be exempted from this requirement. Click here for further info.

Applicants whose first langauge is not English must also demonstrate English language proficiency of IELTS 6.5 (no band less than 6.0 in each element ) or equivalent. Students meeting the programme’s academic entry requirements but not the  English language requirements, may enter the programme upon  successful completion of UCD’s Pre-Sessional or International Pre-Master’s Pathway programmes. Please see the following link for further information http://www.ucd.ie/alc/programmes/pathways/ 

These are the minimum entry requirements – additional criteria may be requested for some programmes

Fahmi Shihabi

My experience in the Middle East Politics program has been truly enriching and enjoyable. The program's modules are shared with other social science courses and the professors teaching the modules are well immersed in their fields. Three core modules must be taken for this program; the other modules can be chosen depending on the interest and goals of the student. I chose to study Theories of Human Rights, Peace & Conflict Studies and International Security in the second semester. I have no regrets in choosing those modules and the knowledge I have gained is significant and I will put it to good use after graduation.

I stayed on campus for half of the course and I enjoyed my stay. The campus had all my needs from grocery shops, sport clubs, green spaces, etc. The James Joyce library is one of my favourite places to study at.

The following entry routes are available:

* Courses will remain open until such time as all places have been filled, therefore early application is advised

A comphrensive FAQ can be found here